Albert B. Fall

Albert Bacon Fall (26 November 1861-30 November 1944) was a US Senator from New Mexico (R) from 27 March 1912 to 4 March 1921, preceding Holm O. Bursum, and US Secretary of the Interior from 5 March 1921 to 4 March 1923, succeeding John Barton Payne and preceding Hubert Work.

Biography
Albert Bacon Fall was born in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1861, and he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He eventually moved to Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, hoping that the hotter climate would help his respiratory problems. He practiced law in Las Cruces, and he served in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1891 to 1892, on the territorial council from 1892 to 1893 and from 1896 to 1897, and as attorney general in 1897. He also served as captain of a US Army infantry company during the Spanish-American War. In 1910, after returning to the State House and the position of attorney general, he served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention. From 1912 to 1921, Fall would serve as one of New Mexico's first two US Senators, having formed an alliance with Thomas B. Catron to ensure that both of them were elected. After Catron retired in 1916, Fall lost his only political ally, but his friendship with the "Ohio Gang" led to him being appointed to serve as Secretary of the Interior from 1921 to 1923. His acceptance of bribes for oil drilling leases led to the Teapot Dome scandal, and he was jailed for one year as a result. He died in 1944.